First Taste Of Bloodshed
by Ezekiellia
Summary: Kill or be killed. This story follows Sesshomaru as he is forced to choose between the two for the first time in his life. One shot, set about 500 years before the main storyline of Inuyasha. Contains violence.


**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of the Manga/Anime Inuyasha. This story is dedicated to Sesshomaru-dono, I love his fur! :D**

All people are born good. And as life goes on, one crafts his own destiny with his actions. You are what you choose to be. Some choose a path of light and glory, and others not so much.

The war among an assorted variety of strong yokai tribes in Japan had been going on forever, even though some believed in peace. Among these heroic peacemakers was the great dog demon lord of the west known by his people as Inu no Taisho. Strong, wise and compassionate, he was the perfect role model to almost everyone who knew him.

But things had not always gone smoothly for the great dog general. Ever since he married Inukimi, a dog demoness from the east, he had been continuously busy. The war did not calm down, and he faced new responsibilities in addition to being a good lord.

In fact, he was so busy negotiating a peace treaty with neighbouring demons that he could not even be present for the birth of his first son. He left the naming of his first-born to his wife, who had a rather strange way of viewing the matters in this world. For reasons unknown to all but herself, Inukimi called her new son Sesshomaru. Not many would give their child a name meaning 'the Perfect Murderer', but Inukimi was convinced that the boy was destined to be a very strong yokai, just like his father.

And so for the past two and a half years, Inu no Taisho had to switch between being a dog, a good lord, a general, a warrior, a husband, and a new father. Of course, amis war and terror and the need to pull three all-nighters in a row, Inu no Taisho did still sometimes get rare occasions to spend some peaceful time with his family.

The warm light of sunset shone over the deep red carpet covering the huge stone steps leading up to the palace within a great castle. Surrounding the stairs was a giant, paved square, elegantly laid out. And at the very top of the stairs was a small open space, furnished with a comfortable, large outdoor bench. The bench was lined with cushions and expensive fabric. It was obviously reserved for the royalty residing within the castle.

Inu no Taisho was sitting on the right side of the bench, glad to be able to relax once in a while. He glanced at the setting sun, and then at the maids and servants. They were also allowed the afternoon off, and were gleefully playing ball in the courtyard. Beside the dog general sat his wife Inukimi, holding the little lord Sesshomaru in her arms. Although he had not yet seen his third birthday, Sesshomaru had a very mature look in his eyes. A look that could stop any maid or servant dead in their tracks. The cool wind blew on the toddler's silver hair, which made it flow elegantly under the orange sunlight.

"Anou, anata," Inukimi broke the silence, which was unusual for her fairly quiet personality, "You have not been back home for two months. Sesshomaru just learned how to read and write. He is such a smart little fellow. He's only two, but he has been talking perfectly for more than a year."

Inu no Taisho glanced at his wife, a troubled look upon his face. Then he sighed and slumped back into his chair.

"Anata, what's wrong?" Inukimi questioned her husband.

"Can't you stop gushing about him?" Inu no Taisho said, mildly annoyed, "You keep saying how good he is at talking, yet I swear I have never heard him say anything except 'yes, father'. You say he is intelligent, but it takes more than intelligence to be a good lord. I have never seen him offer help to the ones in need, not even once. He, as my eldest son, will one day become the lord of the castle. But it takes compassion!"

Inu no Taisho frowned and stopped talking, trying to focus his attention on the tranquil landscape to calm himself down. Recently, his son had given him many negative impressions, as if he was openly disagreeing with what he was being taught.

Sesshomaru listened intently to his parents' conversation, not saying a word. Then, as if he sensed the tension and wanted it to stop, he reached out for the big and beautiful gem attached to his mother's necklace. Inukimi let him hold the dark blue stone in his tiny hands, while gently stroking the fur on his shoulder.

Inu no Taisho turned to his son, and gave him a look of disapproval.

"Sesshomaru, don't play with your mother's necklace. It is not a toy."

Sesshomaru, irritated by his father's strict disciplining, let go of the meido stone and leaped off his mother's lap. Not speaking to his parents, he walked slowly down the carpeted stairs and out towards the courtyard.

"Now look what you have done," Inukimi sighed, "I know you are concerned that the dangerous powers of the meido stone may do him harm, but..."

"Just let him go," replied the great dog general.

Ever since he could walk, Sesshomaru had been a bit of an adventurer. Although during times of war he was not allowed to leave the castle grounds, he would spend hours exploring every corner of the large palace he lived in. This habit never concerned his mother, since indoors was always the safest place for a child to be.

The servants were still enjoying their excersize, near a part of the castle wall that was being repaired. It had been damaged during a recent attack from the army of porcupine demons.

"I'm glad that Taisho-sama is back," One maid said while stopping beside the wall to rest, "My job gets easier when the entire family is present."

"Right," replied another slightly older maid, "When he's not here, the little lord is so difficult to deal with. He never listens when I talk, and he never tells me what he wants."

"Yes, he's such a little jerk."

The maids, of course, realized the potential consequences of their conversation being overheard. But they did not expect that their worst nightmare would ever actually come true. The younger maid looked up, and suddenly dropped the ball she was holding. A look of terror appeared on her face.

There was Sesshomaru, standing on the edge of the courtyard. He had completely overheard their conversation.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" The maid cried, bowing down to the ground, "I'm so sorry! Please forgive our despicable rudeness, I swear we will never say such awful things again!"

Sesshomaru looked down at her in disgust, but he did not say a word. He walked towards her, picked up the soft ball from the ground, and held it out to the maid. The shocked maid took the ball from him with shaking hands.

Then, Sesshomaru silently walked away, leaving the maid sitting on the ground like an idiotic hobo.

Approaching the damaged wall, the toddler heard a buzzing noise, causing him to look up at the darkening sky. There, directly above the castle wall, were two flying insects.

"...Siamyosho..."

Upon seeing and hearing Sesshomaru, the poisonous bees flew away into the distance immediately.

Through the night, the bees flew for a great distance over the plain highlands, until they reached the side of a dark mountain. There, hidden behind a tall tree, was a monstrously large siamyosho hive. But it would seem that the hive of poison bees was not the only horrible nest in that tree. At the bottom of the tree was a small shed, crudely made from the wide trunk. The shed leaked an awful, poisonous demonic aura, because inside it was the most disgusting yet marvelous sight.

Lined against the walls of the crude shed were hundreds of specimens of various poisonous animals. There were snakes, insects, toads, spiders, centipedes, and even a huge dead lizard. Nobody really knew why the porcupine-demon tribe's chief, named Keihiko, was so into poison. He spent nearly all his waking hours in his shed full of poisonous things, pioneering new and more effective weapons to supposedly use to conquer the world.

The siamyosho flew up to the oversized porcupine, and gave their message to him as a series of unintelligible buzzing noises. Keihiko the porcupine chief nodded with an evil smirk on his face.

"Great," Keihiko muttered. Then, turning to his servant and bodyguard, he commanded, "Gather our troops. Tomorrow is the perfect opportunity to test this new type of deadly snake poison. We'll claim that old dog's head, too, as a souvenir."

"Yes, Keihiko-sama," replied his servant named Aki. He ran off to do as he was told, although he was secretly wondering what kind of daft attack his master had planned this time. Keihiko had been constantly waging war against Inu no Taisho for the past sixty years, but he had never even succeeded in taking one step into the dog general's castle.

The next day, Sesshomaru sat on a chair beside a large window as he looked out at the bright afternoon light. Not being allowed to go outside, the child was slightly bored. He reached for a scroll he saw on the shelf, and opened it. Written on it was a poem.

_As life goes on,_  
_We lose more and more,_  
_Shrouded in falsehoods,_  
_We stand still,_  
_Unable to cry,_  
_Living life,_  
_Wandering the edge of the world,_  
_Hoping and believing,_  
_Beginning the journey in search of the light._  
_Exhausted, without the strength to continue,_  
_Vanishing into the infinite darkness._

Sesshomaru closed the scroll, annoyed by the depressing words. Little did he know that they accurately depicted his future.

He then noticed something strange about the guards on sentry duty. They were waving their arms wildly, as if they were trying to yell something but couldn't. Then, all of a sudden, the people on the watch towers collapsed.

Sesshomaru stood up ran out of the room. Coming out of the building and onto the paved square, he saw more guards rushing to the castle gate. But one by one, they somehow all seemed to lose consciousness and collapsed onto the ground.

Just then, a huge creamy white dog flew across the sky towards the entrance of the castle. Sesshomaru knew it was his father.

Inu no Taisho landed softly on the castle wall, changing back to his humanoid form. Just then, he felt something on his shoulder. Glancing down, he saw that it was the sharp spine of a porcupine! Luckily, it had hit his shoulder guard and didn't touch him. By sniffing the air, the dog general found that the spine had been smeared with the potent poison of a snake. He then looked carefully at the direction the spike pointed in.

"That bush, no doubt," Inu no Taisho said to himself. Then, he whipped out the Tetsusaiga and jumped off the castle wall. He thrust his sword into the bush, and blood spurted out. Reaching into the shrub, he pulled out a huge dead rodent. A porcupine demon.

Sesshomaru stared in awe at his father's impressive maneuver. He knew that one day he wanted to be just like his old man. He was also going to be strong, smart and fast. He was going to fly elegantly across the sky, with the Tetsusaiga at his side. He didn't care for his father's other sword because it was only drawn to make dead people come alive again.

Just as Inu no Taisho pinpointed and slew another hidden porcupine demon, Inukimi also emerged from the building, dressed in her shiny armor. She saw her son standing at the top of the stairs, staring at his father.

"Take the young lord inside," Inukimi instructed a maid, "I will join my husband. Listen, if I come back and find one scratch on Sesshomaru, I will cut off your _head_!"

The maid flinched and then immediately nodded. Sesshomaru was already heading towards the door of the building, so the maid ran and caught up with him. She grabbed the boy's little hand.

Sesshomaru stopped walking, and gave the maid a deadly glare of pure fury.

"Do not touch me..."

Before the maid could react to his words, Sesshomaru shook his hand free and entered the building, leaving the maid behind. Although his hands were tiny and very cute, the little claws were somewhat threatening.

Meanwhile, Keihiko and Aki were atop a tree fairly far away from the castle, so they could watch the attack at a safe distance.

"Keihiko-sama," said Aki, "I just got the message from your siamyosho. Somehow that old dog and his wife know where our people are hiding. We're disadvantaged. Our whole army will be dead soon. Should we retreat again, my lord?"

"No, you idiot," Keihiko replied with a sly grin, "Get the army to keep attacking. Try to stall the dogs for as long as possible. And you, Aki-kun. You're coming with me."

"Where, Keihiko-sama?" Questioned Aki.

"The castle, of course," Keihiko explained as he got out of the tree, "Haven't you heard what every parent dreads the most? The old dog had a kid two years ago. We can use this to our advantage."

They walked out into the open, then crouched down to the ground to avoid being seen.

"But Keihiko-sama," Aki questioned again, "How will we get into the castle?"

"You're too stupid," Keihiko said angrily, "Why do you think I tried so hard to damage the castle walls in our last attack?"

"Ah, right."

At the battlefield, Inukimi came out from around the corner, and threw another corpse onto the mound of dead porcupines in front of the castle gate.

"Anata, I got another one!" She called out to her husband, "How is your side going?"

"Great!" Inu no Taisho said as he approached his wife. He dumped three more carcasses onto the pile.

"I think we will be alright," Inukimi smiled at the dog general.

Back inside the house, the maid who was instructed to keep an eye on Sesshomaru was standing next to the closed door. She was very worried, since she saw so many guards drop dead earlier.

Then, she suddenly noticed something move outside the window. Before she could do anything, the maid felt a sharp pain at her side. It was a porcupine spine, covered with snake poison! The maid fell to the floor, struggling in agony.

The door swung open, and outside it were Keihiko and Aki.

"Finish her," Keihiko commanded his loyal servant.

Aki drew out his flimsy sword and stabbed the dying maid in the neck. Dark red blood pooled over the wooden floorboards, shining under the orange sunset at the west of the blackening sky. There could not be a more dire and depressing environment.

Entering the inner bedroom and walking across the floor in deadly silence, Keihiko approached a beautifully decorated crib. It obviously belonged to the most important child residing in the castle. After ascertaining that nobody but Aki was around, Keihiko pulled out a dagger and plunged it into the little furry bundle laying inside the cot.

"You killed him?" Aki questioned his master.

"No," Keihiko replied as he ripped the bedding from the cot, "He's not here."

"We're too late!" Aki screamed, "They must have taken him outside!"

The stupid servant was about to leave when he noticed that his master was still standing in front of the ruined cot, looking intently at the rest of the room.

"No, he couldn't have gone outside," Keihiko reasoned confidently, "No parent would instinctively hide their child outside the safety of their house during an attack. The kid is still in this room."

Keihiko turned around and grinned. Then, he approached the closet on one side of the room and flung open the sliding door. He was right.

On the very inside of the closet was a little child, sitting silently. The unique-looking child interested Keihiko very much. The boy had a big bunch of fur wrapped around one shoulder, and his long silver hair came down to his waist. He looked Keihiko straight in the eye, not making a sound. Keihiko could clearly see the artistic blue crescent moon on Sesshomaru's forehead.

"Hey boy," Keihiko said to Sesshomaru, "What are you called?"

He received no reply.

"Well, if you won't co-operate, then we'll have to do this the hard way," Keihiko continued.

Taking a tiny wooden bottle out of his pants' pocket, Keihiko pulled a sharp spine from his back. He dipped the spine in the deadly looking liquid contained within the bottle. Then he held up the spine between his fingers.

"This ought to make you behave."

He flung it at Sesshomaru, and it stabbed him on his forearm. The child gritted his teeth.

"Is he going to die?" Asked Aki.

"Can you stop asking so many questions?" His irritated master shot back, "No, he won't die. That's just a paralyzer. You can't threaten anyone with a dead hostage, can you?"

Keihiko reached into the closet and grabbed Sesshomaru by his left shoulder. His sharp claws dug right into the toddler's soft skin, adding several red dots to his white kimono. Keihiko hauled Sesshomaru out of the closet and dumped him on the floor, where he lay face down, unmoving. Keihiko gawked at the boy.

"Weak little brat. Not one bit like the father," Keihiko remarked, "Aki, take him back to our camp."

Aki approached the kid and picked him up by the collar of his clothes. Just then, Aki noticed that something was off about Sesshomaru. His eyes had turned red, and the four straight magenta stripes on his cheeks had become jagged. He was also shaking, although Aki didn't know if it was in fear or fury.

"Why you..." Sesshomaru growled, although his voice was barely audible.

Then suddenly the previously paralyzed child lifted up his hands and dragged his claws through Aki's arm. Aki shrieked in pain and dropped Sesshomaru, who landed perfectly on his feet. At this point, Keihiko turned around to see what was going on.

Without any warning whatsoever, Sesshomaru leaped six feet into the air and sprang at Keihiko.

"I am NOT weak, you worthless piece of shit!" The usually silent child screamed so loudly that his voice echoed through the house.

Sesshomaru plunged his claws into Keihiko's neck. Blood splashed out, painting the wall scarlet. The porcupine demon was killed instantly.

Out in front of the castle, Inukimi turned her head. Then, her face went pale. She could smell blood...the blood of her son. She wasn't paying attention to what was happening around her for just an instant. During that instant, a sharp, poisoned spine flew out of nowhere and hit her on her hand. Inukimi groaned in pain from the potent poison, but now there was something that was more important to her than her own life. She turned and flew back to the castle.

Sesshomaru was panting, staring at the body of the demon who he had just murdered. His eyes turned dark amber again, like they normally were, and his sanity returned. The child looked down at his own hands, which were covered with Keihiko's blood. This sight made him feel sick. Then, he realized that he was once again paralyzed from the poison.

By this time, Aki had also recovered from shock, although his arm was still bleeding heavily. He scrambled up to his dead master.

"Keihiko-sama! Wake up, Keihiko-sama!" He screamed at his master. His master didn't move.

Then, turning his attention to Sesshomaru, Aki yelled, "Why you little brat! I will make you suffer for doing this to Keihiko-sama!"

Sesshomaru didn't exactly have any time to prepare himself before he felt Aki's hard fist on his stomach. He was knocked down onto the floor, where he lay gagging. Then, Aki picked up the child by his hair and threw him across the room, which made him hit his head hard on the opposite wall.

Falling down on the ground and still completely paralyzed, Sesshomaru was shivering from the pain. A trickle of blood emerged from his hairline, and slid down his cheek. Through his blurred vision, he saw Aki approaching him once again.

Aki unsheathed his sword, and stared down at the defenseless child.

"Seeing as you can't really fight back, I will make this quick for you," Said Aki, spitting at the poor kid. He raised his sword.

Bracing himself for the finishing blow, Sesshomaru was once again able to look his enemy straight in the eye. When Aki saw the kid's deep amber eyes, he was surprised that he wasn't crying. But this didn't change Aki's determination to avenge his master. He swung his sword, and Sesshomaru gritted his teeth.

Suddenly there was a loud clang, and Aki's flimsy sword was cut right in half. Standing there was Inukimi the amazing mother, scowling in fury at the man who wanted to kill her child.

Before Aki could even react, he was impaled by Inukimi's long sword. She stabbed him with so much force that he was pushed right back against the wall, and she did not remove her sword until he had completely stopped moving.

Inukimi approached Sesshomaru and sunk to her knees in front of him, grabbing him by his shoulders.

"Sesshomaru, answer me!" The distressed mother shouted, "Are you alright?"

He looked up into the pair of dark eyes, which were clouded with tears.

"...Mother..."

Inukimi was so relieved that her son was alright. But by then the adrenaline had worn off and Inukimi felt a deep, numbing pain in the arm that was stabbed by a poisoned spine. But all that mattered to her at that moment was that her son was safe. She held him tightly in her arms, as she wiped the blood off his face.

The sky was completely dark, and the battle was over. The few survivors of the porcupine demon tribe fled back to their camp, now leaderless. Not long after Inukimi saved Sesshomaru from Aki, Inu no Taisho also returned and immediately arranged for a doctor. The sight of the room was haunting. On the floor lay three dead bodies that had obviously all endured a violent end. Blood was all over the wall. The closet door was broken, and the cot had been stripped of its bedding. Mother and son, both injured, were huddled up in one corner of the room.

Sesshomaru awoke to find himself tucked in bed. He slowly opened his eyes to see the calm face of his father. It comforted him to see his father after all the awful things he had been through earlier.

"Sesshomaru, you're awake?" Inu no Taisho said with a pleased look on his face, "I'm so glad that you're alright. Your mother made it just in time."

"Is mother alright?" Sesshomaru asked.

"She was given an antidote for snake poison, so she should be fine."

The dog general suddenly stopped, and looked carefully at his son's right hand - the hand he had used to kill Keihiko. It was glowing a yellowish green...the same colour as the demonic aura of the deceased porcupine demon. But then Sesshomaru's own light blue demonic aura wrapped around the yellow glow and it seemed to dissipate.

"Sesshomaru, show me your hand," Inu no Taisho said to his son.

He took Sesshomaru's right hand, and suddenly jerked it violently to one side. A long, golden line of energy shot out from the child's fingertips. It flew across the room and utterly destroyed an expensive tea set that was on the table.

"This looks like a whip," Sesshomaru said, standing up on the bed, "And it looks powerful."

Inu no Taisho stared at his son, wondering how the little boy could control Keihiko's demonic energy and harness it as a weapon. But before he could think any deeper into the matter, Sesshomaru flung his new poison whip wildly and nearly hit the great dog general in the face.

"Stop that now!" He commanded his son.

Sesshomaru stared at the whip in his right hand and then whispered, "Go away..."  
The poison whip simply disappeared, as if it was listening to the commands of its owner.

Inu no Taisho sat down beside his son once again, and looked at him patiently.

"Sesshomaru," he questioned, "Were you not afraid when you killed that porcupine demon?"

"No, father. I simply wanted to kill him."

"Don't you realize the true purpose of killing someone?" The dog general said, surprised at his son's answer.

"He called me weak. I wanted to kill him."

"A good lord can't just go around wanting to kill people," Inu no Taisho explained to Sesshomaru in a pained voice, "You should respect the ones who you fight, and only ever hurt or kill people because you need to protect yourself or others."

"Only weak people have to protect others," Sesshomaru said plainly to his father.

Upon hearing his son's despicable words, Inu no Taisho, who was usually laid back and kind, suddenly lost his temper. He got up in a huff and left the room, leaving Sesshomaru to wonder why his father was suddenly mad at him again.

~~The End~~


End file.
